Dental X-ray film holder



July 3, 1956 J. M. GOLDBERG 2,753,461

DENTAL X-RAY FILM HOLDER Filed Feb. 12. 1952 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY DENTAL X-RAY FILM HOLDER Julius M. Goldberg, New York, N. Y.

Application February 12, 1952, Serial No. 271,205

4/ tlllaims. (tCl. 25070) This invention is an improvement in dentalX-ray film holder particularly an instrument for supporting sensitivefilms in the oral cavity of a dental patient and indicating the correctposition for the cone of the X-ray apparatus when X-ray pictures are tobe taken of the teeth and supporting bones.

An important object of my invention is to provide an instrument of thistype having the form of a holder for the film, and bearing a clip tosecure the film in place and prevent shifting of the film when theholder is manipulated, and comprising a handle by which the holder canbe readily inserted into a patients mouth, and which is so related tothe holder when the film is mounted therein that it serves as a guidefor the operator in preparing for the exposure.

To produce an accurate shadow image on an X-ray film the properdirection of such rays with reference to surface of the film must becarefully chosen. A further object of my invention is to provide aholder for an X-ray film that will enable an operator always to judgesuch direction exactly and to proceed accordingly so that he can delivera perfect shadow picture that can quickly be read to diagnose thecondition of the tooth and the part of the jaw bone at the root thereof.

Another object is to provide a holder which is simple and inexpensive inconstruction, sanitary in use, easy to manipulate and capable of beingrigidly held by the patient between his teeth with no discomfort orother inconvenience.

Other objects of the nature and advantages of my invention will appearin the following description. The drawings illustrate the preferredembodiment of my improved holder, but variations in details may be made,within the meaning of the terms of the appended claims.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of a dental instrument according to thisinvention;

Figure 2 is a section on line 22 in Figure 1; and

Figure 3 shows the instrument supporting an X-ray film in the mouth of apatient.

In its construction the holder includes a guide in the form of astraight stem or rod 1, affixed to one end of a wedge-shaped block 2 atthe thicker end of said block. At the other end of the block 2 is anupward extending inclined rigid plate 3; the angle between the rod 1 andplate 3 being approximately 120 degrees. The rod is parallel orsubstantially in line with the lower face of the block or member 2 andthe upper face of the member 2 is near to a perpendicular position withrespect to the plate 3. The rod, block and plate are preferably in onepiece.

The plate 3 has a channel 4 in its rear face extending from bottom totop, and seating an adjustable U-shaped retaining clip 5. The plate 3serves as a back rest for the film 6, which stands with its lower edgein a straight transverse groove 7 between the block 2 and plate 3, andis held at its upper edge by hooks 8 on the clip. The sides 9 of thechannel are undercut and States Patent overlap the arms of the clip, andthe arms are sprung outward to a slight extent to cause the clip to fitthe channel snugly so that accidental displacement of the clip from theplate is prevented. But the clip can slide in the channel and can bemoved by hand for adjustment when a film is put into the holder andpushed down till the hooks 8 engage securely with the upper edge of thefilm 6.

When the fih'n is mounted in the holder and secured by the clip, theplate 3 and film 6 are placed into the mouth of the patient intoposition behind the tooth to be photographed. The rod 1 is joined to theblock 2 at the end 10 which is relatively thick, the upper face 11 ofthe block and the lower face 12 converging towards the groove 7. Eachface has small protuberances l3 thereon in transverse rows; and when thefilm has reached the desired position, the patient is asked to clamp theblock 2 between his teeth 14 to keep it motionless during the exposure.The protuberances 13 prevent the block 2 from slipping. The cone of theX-ray apparatus is indicated at 15 and the direction of the X-ray by thebroken line 16.

In practice the instrument can be used to take X-ray pictures of teethin the upper jaw with the plate 3 extending upward, or in the lower jawwith the plate 3 turned down and under the tongue. In either case theoperator disposes the instrument so that the plate 3 is substantiallyparallel to the tooth. Then the lower side of the cone is held parallelto the rod 1, which is perpendicular to the groove 7 and to the loweredge of the film 6 therein. The inclination of the plate and theconfiguration of the cone are such that the axis 16 of the cone, whichis also the direction of the X-rays emitted from its smaller forwardend, is now about perpendicular to the film 6. Thus the picture can betaken to the best advantage and will clearly reveal the condition of thetooth and jaw bone near it.

The cone can easily be maintained with its lower part substantiallyparallel with the rod 1 during exposure and the true position of thecone relative to the rod is readily ascertained by the eye of theoperator without further assistance. This method of proceeding is muchsuperior to the method set forth in my prior patent No. 2,245,945granted June 10, 1941, which describes a holder that supports a film atan angle to the teeth and requires the cone to be so disposed that thedirection of the X-rays is perpendicular to the bisector of said angle.Such a position is too dhfficult to reach with any degree of accuracyand many defective pictures result. The holder of this invention makesthe operation of the X-ray apparatus easier and simpler and virtuallyevery exposure will give a picture that is all that can be desired.

As disclosed in my aforesaid prior patent, the backrest plate 3 can beconnected to the block 2 so as to be laterally adjustable if desired.The bottom of the block 2 is preferably parallel to the rod 1, and thetop inclined, and the groove 4 has a stop 17 in it adjacent the outerend of the plate 3 to prevent detachment and loss of the clip 5. Themain difference between the device of this application and that of myabove-mentioned patent is that in this case the cone of the X-rayapparatus is parallel at the lower side to the guide rod 1, and can beeasily adjusted to this position by the operator, and so held duringexposure; while in the device of my above-mentioned patent the axis ofthe cone of the X-ray apparatus must be visualized and that lineadjusted by the eye so as to be in the right position relative to thedirecting rod. This is difficult to do and errors occur, and poor imagesoften result.

Having described my invention, what I believe to be new is:

1. A dental instrument comprising a bite block to be held in the mouthbetween the teeth, a back-rest plate for an X-ray fllm affixed to oneend of said block, a straight rod affixed to the opposite end, andmaking an obtuse angle with said plate, the instrument having a straighttransverse groove at the junction of the block and the plate, the rodbeing perpendicular to the groove, and a clip adjustably attached to theplate, said block having protuberances on its opposite faces, said clipbeing U-shaped, the rear face of said plate having a channel withundercut edges to seat the clip adjustably therein, the clip havinghooks at its separated ends to retain the film in place on the block.

2. A dental instrument comprising a bite block to be held in the mouthbetween the teeth, a back rest plate for an X-ray film afiixed to oneend of said block, a straight rod afilxed to the opposite end, andmaking an obtuse angle with said plate, the instrument having a straighttransverse groove at the junction of the block and the plate, the rodbeing perpendicular to the groove, and a clip adjustably attached to theplate, said block having protuberances on its opposite faces, the bottomof the block being substantially parallel to the rod and the topinclined to said rod, said clip being U-shaped, the rear face of saidplate having a channel with undercut edges to seat the clip adjustablytherein, the clip having hooks at its separated ends to retain the filmin place on the block.

3. A dental instrument for taking pictures of teeth in the human mouth,comprising a back-rest plate for supporting an X-ray film, means carriedby the plate for holding the film thereon, a wedge-shaped member aflixedto the lower part of said plate to be gripped be- 4 tween the upper andlower teeth to keep the plate and film behind a tooth and substantiallyparallel thereto, the member being connected along its thinner end tosaid plate, said member having a lower surface inclined to said plate atan angle of approximately 120 degrees and an upper face approximatelyperpendicular to said plate, and a straight guide rod throughout itslength fixed to the outer thicker end of said member and extending awayfrom said plate and substantially parallel to said lower surface of saidmember and therefore at the same angle of approximately 120 degrees tosaid plate, so that the cone of an X-ray apparatus can be maintainedwith its side adjacent said rod and parallel thereto, and its smallerforward end pointed directly at the middle of said film on the plate toproduce a clear image of said tooth.

4. The dental instrument as defined in claim 3, with said member havingsmaller protuberances in transverse rows on both faces.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,405,217 Houser Jan. 31, 1922 1,445,169 Ralph Feb. 13, 1923 1,906,223Buck May 2, 1933 2,010,281 Van Valkenburg Aug. 6, 1935 2,075,491 WilsonMar. 30, 1937 2,082,793 De Weal June 8, 1937 2,090,933 Bolin Aug. 24,1937 2,245,395 Goldberg June 10, 1941 2,392,109 Vlock Jan. 1, 19462,476,776 Smathers July 19, 1949

